Replaced
by The Ethereal Lord
Summary: I'd thought I would live my life with both of them, all three of us facing any and everything life threw at us. It seemed that way too. Until I got Replaced. Now... Now I just have to get myself back together and move on. Forge new dreams and new bonds. I have to pick myself back up... PS: first chap is by Jiraiya's Dream. He's the one who laid down the challenge. Big Ups to him!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Twilight in Kuoh Academy was a quiet place. It was also a beautiful place, which was why the blond Devil took his time to stroll to the Occult Research Club's room rather than to teleport directly back. The trees rustled as a cool evening breeze swept across the school, masking his soft footfalls as he ambled up the path to the old school compound.

The building, designed with Victorian sensibilities, was eerily silent, but that was the norm rather than the exception. The uniformed teen walked through the well-maintained corridors almost on autopilot, having been walking to the same destination every day for the past few months. He finally stopped before a large set of ornate double doors, etching a smile on his lips as he pushed them open.

He froze.

Issei looked up as the door creaked open, the panic and arousal evident in his eyes. The brown-haired teen was blushing furiously, a beautiful older student kneeling before him and sucking on his right index finger sensuously. Her long, purple ponytail swayed as she teased the newly instated Devil, her attention focused wholly on the wielder of Ddraig. The blond offered Issei a bitter smile, pressing his index finger to his lips as a signal to stay silent. He shut the door quietly, leaving the couple to continue doing whatever they were doing.

He had enough. It was time to leave.

8888888888888888

He folded the note in half neatly, pinching the fold and sliding across its length smoothly. Scribbling two names on the blank exterior of the note, he positioned it square on his desk. Offering his now sparse room one last, longing glance, he threw his packed duffel bag over his shoulder and shut the door behind him. His footsteps were heavy as he walked away from his accommodations, each step taking him further and further away from the home and family he had known for so many years.

The night sky was dotted with twinkling stars, the galaxies visible without the light pollution so common in cities. The blond had always loved the outdoors, and Kuoh was so attractive to him because of the wide, open spaces. But if they had gone to another school, he would have followed no matter what it was like. Inhaling deeply, he gazed up at the distant stars, wondering what could have been.

"Rias, Akeno," he greeted, turning his azure eyes to the two young Devils.

His traitorous heart skipped a beat, but he ruthlessly suppressed his joy at seeing the two most important people in his life. It helped that they both carried confused and disappointed looks upon their aristocratic features. Rias flicked her crimson hair over her shoulder, stepping forward with a stern look on her face. Her eyes glanced at the duffel bag he carried over his shoulder, her brow creasing.

"What do you think you're doing?" she demanded.

"Did Kiba-kun not tell you?" the blond remarked casually. "In any case, it doesn't matter. I left a note in my room. Feel free to read it at your own leisure."

"Naruto," the Gremory warned, concern evident in her voice. "I can't protect you if you leave like this. You'll be branded as a Stray Devil."

"I know."

"Don't do this," Akeno chimed in. "Buchō's pride…don't trample on it. We owe her our lives."

"It's the only path I see ahead of me," the whiskered blond muttered wearily.

"You…you idiot! Do you think…do you think running away will solve anything?!" Rias shouted, her eyes watering. "Why don't we sit down and talk about this, Naruto? Don't…don't go. I don't want…I don't want to have to hunt you down."

"You still haven't noticed, have you? Both of you," Naruto sighed tiredly. "You've made my decision easier then."

"Noticed what?" Akeno asked waspishly, angered at the teen's attitude.

"I thought Kiba-kun might have told you this, but I suppose he did keep it a secret. I didn't tell him not to tell you two that I was leaving, so I guess that's on me," Naruto chuckled. "I won't be a Stray that you'll have to hunt down, so don't worry."

"You…you think that's what I'm worried about?! Having to hunt down family?!" Rias screeched, magic gathering in her tightly clenched fists. "I'm worried about you, Naruto! Running away like this, this isn't you! You've always faced your troubles head on. Why…why can't you talk to us about the problems you're facing?"

"Rias."

"What," the Ruin Princess twisted around to regard her oldest friend.

Akeno was nearing tears herself, biting her lip as she gestured at the blond Devil. "Use…your [King], Rias."

The azure-eyed teen's lips upturned as Rias complied with the strange request, her trust in her [Queen] absolute. As her [King] piece resonated with the pieces within him, she gasped in shock, her aquamarine eyes widening in horror. "A [King] and a [Pawn]?!"

"Yes," Naruto intoned quietly. "I am no longer your [Rook] anymore, Rias."

"But…when? How?"

"How? That's easy. I took the exam to become a high-class Devil before this school semester started," Naruto explained matter-of-factly.

"And you never told us?" the purple-haired [Queen] asked dispiritedly.

"At that time, I didn't see the need to. This strength," Naruto murmured, raising his fist. "Was meant to protect everyone precious to me. I cared not for a Peerage, nor for fame. Becoming a High-Class Devil will raiseyourreputation back home, a reputation that you never really bothered to maintain. Sirzechs-sama was quite happy with my decision."

"At that time?" Rias echoed.

Naruto smiled dispassionately. "Until you brought Issei into the fold."

"What has Ise-kun have to do with all this?" Akeno growled. "Don't tell me you're leaving just because you feel threatened by his presence."

"I am," the cerulean-eyed Devil admitted freely.

Energy exploded off of Rias, her demonic aura flaring out impressively. "You…you are leaving us because of…jealousy?!"

"Yes, I am. Because Issei has taken my place in your hearts," Naruto replied coolly, unfazed by Rias' show of power.

"What?" Akeno furrowed her brow in repressed anger, lightning crackling in her hands. "Issei is just a pervertedkōhai. You…you're my little brother. Our, little brother. How can you even…thinkthat he's replaced you in our hearts? What gives you therightto assume such things?!"

"Because yesterday, when I walked into the clubroom," Naruto whispered. "You never noticed me."

Startled, the magic faded from Rias and Akeno, who could only exchanged confused glances. Naruto laughed in resignation, closing his eyes to quash the tears that threatened to spill. "I was returning from a contract. When I opened the door, I saw you, my dearest Akeno-neechan, sucking on Issei's finger. He noticed me immediately, but you never did."

"I was-"

"I know what you were doing," Naruto interrupted the purple-haired Devil. "I know you were trying to suck out the magic from his arm. I know you like to tease him. But younever noticed me."

Sending Akeno a meaningful stare, he continued his spiel. "When we were younger, you always ambushed and smothered me in hugs when you felt my energy close to you. As we grew up, you stopped being so affectionate, but you still greeted me and acknowledged my presence. Yesterday, I realised that I no longer mean as much to you as I did before. And the same goes for you, Rias."

"Just because-"

"She wasn't paying attention to her surroundings?" Naruto sneered at Rias. "Do you know that of your entire Peerage, only you and Akeno are unaware of my promotion? The rest all found out on their own. Even Sona-san knows."

"Sona?! How…"

"Because unlike you, who wields the Power of Destruction, she inherited far less from her parents," Naruto shook his head. "She has had to rely on intelligence and wit to win her battles. To her, knowledge is power. Did you really think she wouldn't be keeping track of everything going on in the Underworld? As for Kiba-kun, he noticed almost immediately the moment I got back from the exams. Koneko noticed when she sat down to play video games with Gasper and I. And Gasper found out when she asked."

"I…I never meant to…" Rias stuttered. "I'm sorry for not noticing, Naruto. But…but this doesn't mean we don't care for you!"

"It's been months, Rias," the blond sighed, running a hand through his messy locks. "That's why, since Issei arrived, I've continued to keep mum, to see how long it would take for the two of you to finally notice. But it only solidified things for me."

"And the [Pawn]? Whose Piece are you now?" Akeno asked in a small voice.

"Serafall-sama's," the whiskered Devil smiled fondly. "She volunteered when I asked Sirzechs-sama about leaving your Peerage."

"You asked Oniisama?" Rias goggled incredulously. "And he agreed?!"

"He did, because he understood and accepted my reasons. He wasn't happy about it, but Venelana-sama convinced him," Naruto replied seriously.

"Mother too? Why would…"

"Because they too, watched the Rating Game against Riser Phenex. They watched as, in your hurry to save Issei from getting hurt in a Game where you would only be incapacitated before being treated outside the barriers, you gave up on the match," Naruto answered in a dead voice. "They watched as you completely forgot about your other [Rook] still in the Game, a [Rook] with enhanced defences and is a high-class Devil who spars with Sairaorg on a semi-regular basis. A [Rook] you could have castled with to escape and regroup, a [Rook] who could engage Riser and protect Issei."

"I…I didn't think of that," Rias mumbled shamefacedly.

"You should have seen their surprise, Rias, when they learnt from me that you still didn't know of my promotion. They thought you knew, which is why they approved of your Rating Game in the first place," the blond snorted. "They assumed that you were going to rely on me for victory."

"That's not Rias' fault. You never told us anything," Akeno defended her friend heatedly.

"If that's the case, how come she never noticed I wasn't her [Rook] anymore?" he smiled sardonically. "I haven't been her Piece since she moved in with Issei. The [Rook] is on her pillow, in fact."

"That's unfair to her," Akeno hissed. "You knew she moved in with Ise, yet you put your piece on her bed!"

"No, you're right, it is unfair. But should a [King] be so unaware of her Peerage? What does that tell you about how much she cares?" Naruto retorted, as Rias stumbled back in guilt. "In trying to welcome Issei and Asia, she has neglected the rest of us. Gasper hasn't seen her in weeks. I trained alone for ten days before the Riser match, and I wasn't even greeted with concern when I returned."

"So this still boils down to jealousy then. I thought better of you," the purple-haired Devil snarled.

Naruto offered her a wistful smile. "I thought better of me too. But I'm a Devil, and I'm selfish. I love both of you, but I can't have either. Not when your hearts have been captured by Issei."

"That's nonsense! How could you just assume that-" Rias began.

"Grayfia teleported into my room one night," Naruto interjected, a wry smile on his lips. "Only to find it wholly absent of you. I've never seen her so surprised before. She professed that she thought you would approach me to lose your virginity and annul your marriage with Riser. Instead, you went for Issei."

"Is that it? You're…you're like my brother! I chose Issei because he's naive and malleable!" Rias argued weakly.

"And you're one of the two women I love," the blond confessed. "Which is why, when you blushed so prettily as Issei risked his life to crash your wedding, I asked Sirzechs-sama to leave your Peerage."

"Then when did you stay on after that? Why not just leave then?" Akeno shouted hoarsely.

"Because I couldn't let go. Because even though it hurts to see Rias so smitten with Issei, my heart swelled with every smile and every laugh," Naruto croaked out. "But when I saw you, Akeno, so engrossed with Issei that you didn't even register my presence, it was the last straw."

"Things…don't have to end this way, Naruto," the crimson-haired [King] pleaded. "You're still our dearest little brother. Give us a chance. We'll make up for all the things we've done wrong. Don't…don't leave. Not like this. Please."

"Dearest little brother?" the blond [Pawn] scorned, turning his back on the duo. "I thought I was, for many years in fact. All those years spent on the streets struggling to survive with Akeno. All those times we spent together as a trio, laughing and playing and sleeping together. But now, I'm just a former [Rook] that both of you forgot."

"Then do all those years mean nothing to you now?!" the [Queen] screamed in frustration, anger and disappointment.

"They mean everything to me. And that's why I have to leave," Naruto said bitterly. "Devils live for thousands of years. I can't…I can't bear to live with the two women I love, being in love with another man. Issei is a good kid. He'll treat the two of you well, perverted as he is."

Casting one last tearful glance back at Rias and Akeno, Naruto flashed them a wistful smile. "Goodbye."

He vanished instantly without a trace.

—~ ~—

This chapter belongs entirely to Jiraiya's Dream, author of the totally badass Naruto-Fairy Tail Crossover fic: LA Tormenta.

I'm tossing it in as a tribute of sorts, with my own chapter being the next one.

Read and Review Please.

The Ethereal Lord.


	2. Chapter 2

So, this is where I begin my work on the story. Enjoy.

Chapter 2

 _"You…you idiot! Do you think…do you think running away will solve anything?!"_

Naruto.

 _"You…you are leaving us because of…jealousy?!"_

Naruto get up.

 _"I'm sorry for not noticing, Naruto. But…but this doesn't mean we don't care for you!"_

Get your damned ass up gaki!

 _"You're still our dearest little brother. Give us a chance. We'll make up for all the things we've done wrong. Don't…don't leave. Not like this. Please."_

Gaki get the fuck up or I swear to shove a fire coated tail straight up your nose!

"Gah!" The blond exclaimed as he shot forward in his seat. After reacclimating himself to the waking world, the blond turned to glare at his companion. "What the fuck Azula?"

Taking the form of a sleek, black-furred vixen the size of the average house cat, the familiar growled at her partner. "Don't take that bloody tone with me Naruto! You were radiating energy again due to your dreams. Much as I hate to admit it, I would have been hard pressed to restrain your energy any longer and you know exactly how it would have turned out had I not woken you."

The two kept up the glares for a while until the blond human sighed tiredly, sinking into the seat as he apologized to the vixen.

"No problem, Naruto." The vulpine familiar replied as it settled onto the blond's lap. "I just wish you'd stop beating yourself up over that. It's been more than a month already yet..."

"Yet I keep remembering the looks of devastation on their faces as I revealed the truth to them." The blond smiled bitterly as he forced the tears rising to his eyes back down. "You don't understand, Azula, I hurt them."

"No you-"

"Yes I did, Azula, and you know it." The smile gained a sardonic twist. "I chose the words that would hurt the most, I chose the words that would devastate them."

"Because you were hurting! Okay!" The vixen hissed furiously. This was the first time her partner had freely spoken of that day and she was more than eager to state her mind on the matter. "So you decided to lash out after _months_ of _complete_ ignorance from both of them! And for what? A perverted bastard? They chose a lowlife scum over you, destroying years of friendship in the process? Whatever you said to them, they deserved at least twice that! The king chose to sacrifice her other pieces during a rating game whose result her parents would ultimately find a way around should it have turned out negatively. They-"

"I never knew you had such vehement thoughts on this, Zula." Naruto cut in as he ran his hands through her coat, focusing lots of rubbing on the parts closest to her ears.

"Of course I do." The vixen purred contentedly. "They hurt you without reason. They should be glad I didn't go all out and assault them."

"Guess I should be glad you're on my side huh?"

"Damned straight brat."

"So, remind me why we're on this train again?"

"Of course." The vixen sniffed primly. "Your head was stuck so far up your ass this past week, you couldn't have heard when Serafall-sama gave you this first mission."

The blond sighed. "You gonna cut me some slack any time soon?"

"Nope."

The cabin was silent for the next few minutes before the blond broke the silence.

"You gonna tell me now?"

The vixen sighed long-sufferingly. "I guess I can pity a moron."

"Savage."

"I know." Azula smirked. "We're to hunt down a Stray devil of Serafall-sama's father's peerage. The bishop made off with a prized artifact of the Sitri family that we should retrieve if possible, though it is not a priority."

"Hm."

"We're going to find that artifact, aren't we?"

"You betcha."

The vixen just shook her head. "You're predictable, you know that?"

The blond gathered the vixen up and snuggled it to his cheek. "Only to you, Zula."

"Whatever." If the familiar had been in its human form, its blush would have warmed the sun. "Anyway, the Stray has been tracked to Sona's territory. It probably wants to strike at the heir before taking off so we'll be a tad pressed for time."

"With your tracking spells and my sensory ability, finding the Stray should be a breeze."

The vixen's eyes turned soulful and piercing as she turned to her partner. "And you're certain you'll be able to cope in close proximity to them?"

His normally warm blue eyes froze over, becoming glacial chips in their sockets. "I'll deal."

—~ ~—

Naruto yawned as he dropped on to the bed in the hotel room he'd paid for. Serafall had offered to fund him on this mission but his years growing up, struggling for a living with Akeno had instilled a deep-seated sense of independence in his core. It satisfied him to rely on the fruits of his labor than rest on someone else's charity.

Right now, with Azula and her swarm of fox spirits scouring the city for the Stray, it was time for him to utilize his sensory abilities to detect any anomalies within the city. With that, he'd be able to direct the kitsune spirits to the spots with the greatest anomalies. Honestly, he thought as he sat up in his preferred meditation posture, I should have done this earlier but finding a hotel within my price tag was bloody difficult.

Well, enough whining. Time to get to work.

His breathing evened itself out for a few seconds before his entire body stilled so suddenly that a stranger would have thought he'd died.

He hadn't though, he was simply so deep within the natural energies that only a fellow sage would detect his presence.

Sending his mentality on a swift journey, he grew until he could sense the entirety of the city like it was his own body. It was a very intoxicating feeling, the power to simply soar until he became one with nature...

The danger of learning senjutsu as he had, and the reason the sage toads were always prepared with the stick. Once the mentality had fully merged with nature, the Mount Myobokuzan oils which normally would enhance the connection, would catalyze the ambient nature in the body, hastening the petrification process.

Even without the oils, petrification would occur.

Naruto, however, had all but become the ultimate sage. Expanding his mentality like this posed little threat to him.

The first two energy signatures he noticed were theirs.

They were together and, judging by the minute flickers in their signatures, he could tell that they were sad.

He wrenched his focus from them. They'd chosen their paths and forced him onto this. They deserved all they were going through.

 _Do they?_

He studiously ignored the voice in the back of his mind and turned his focus on another familiar signature: Sona Sitri, heiress to the Sitri pillar. The girl was with another familiar signature; her queen, Tsubaki.

All seemed good on that front so he began to hunt down the anomalies.

Within an hour, he'd identified twenty possible targets and by the next half hour, had narrowed it down to three possible targets.

Returning to his body, he flushed out the nature chakra in himself and concentrated on his familiar.

The black vixen appeared in a puff of crimson smoke.

"Got anything?" She asked, getting down to business instantly, to which her partner answered instantly. Taking in the information, the female kitsune transmitted the information, along with new orders, to her spirits.

"They are off." She reported. "Saeko, Hikari and Takano, three of my best scouts."

"Thank you." He nodded to the vixen. "You remembered to warn them of the bounded fields?"

The vixen nodded, not at all insulted by the question. It was safer to ask than assume. Assumptions got one killed. "They've been warned."

"Good. Alert me when we've got a fix on the Stray. In the meantime, have the others scout for the presence of artifact. Senjutsu doesn't work well with objects so I still need their Intel."

"Got it." The vixen nodded again as she watched him unseal his sealing materials from a sealing tattoo on his skin. "What'll you be doing?"

"Preparing a bounded field of my own." He replied as he picked up his brush and unrolled a fresh sealing scroll. "Going up against an unknown combatant in their own bounded field is just nuts. I'll need to either draw them out of their field or create a field that can disrupt theirs, switching the advantage to me."

"And you'll have something ready by morning?" Azula asked to which the blond pulled an over the shoulder, raised-eyebrow stare that Vin Diesel would have been proud of.

"Who do you think I am?"

—~ ~—

"Ugh, Azula what is it with strays and rundown buildings?" Naruto groaned as he approached the location the fox spirits had narrowed it down to. True to his words, the structure they approached looked less like the beautiful Victorian Manor it had once been and more like the discarded toyhouse of a demented Harley Quinn.

It was of no surprise that the structure had been slated for demolition.

"Oh I don't know." The obsidian vixen shrugged. "Perhaps they require their environs to look as filthy as their twisted insides. Let's just get this over with. I was enjoying that new anime you started last night."

"Air Gear? I didn't think you would." Naruto winced as they stepped into the bounded field. It was pretty potent stuff, giving off a ton of bloodlust and killing intent. Not as bad as, say, Madara's but definitely ranking around chūnin exam Gaara's.

"You can't expect me to believe that you didn't find the premise to be interesting." The vixen shot back with a grin. "I felt it, by the way. The bloodlust."

"Of course you did. You're way better than me at sensing-"

Both familiar and devil dived apart just in time to avoid a blur that was powerful enough to shatter the cobblestone walkway.

Azula was swift in regaining her balance and she let loose a jet of flame from two of her tails straight into the dust cloud.

A thin streamer of dust erupted from the top of the dust cloud, indicating that something had just rocketed out of it, prompting Naruto to action.

Flashing through a string of hand seals, the blond fired of half a dozen fireballs, all locked on to the flying figure. Being a devil himself, he knew that his target was bound to use their wings to fly out of the line of fire so he swiftly summoned kunai with wires attached and, having channelled wind chakra into the blades and the wires, hurled them with unerring accuracy.

As expected, the Stray had nimbly dodged all the fireballs. Unfortunately for it, the motions had positioned it right where Naruto wanted and a few twitches of the fingers had the Stray wrapped up in steel wires.

Letting go of a sliver of control, the blond had his chakra racing through his system, reinforcing his body and boosting his physical strength. With a grunt, he pulled downwards, dragging his captive down to have an intimate introduction with the ground. Leaving the wires wrapped tightly around the captive, he walked up to take a closer look. It was a female, a very beautiful one at that, with a heart-shaped face and long, deep blue hair strewn across her face. She had a very nice body too, her mid-thigh length black skirt and long sleeved, plain white shirt doing little to hide that fact. She wore a pair of boots that stretched up to her mid thigh, slipping just beneath her skirt, her wings splayed out behind her and, even unconscious, her hands gripped a well crafted katana tightly.

"Well, that was a waste of my efforts." Azula yawned as she padded up to him.

Naruto arched an eyebrow. "Not the target?"

"Nope. Must be an Independent that decided to work for our target." The vixen replied with an uninterested drawl. "Let's keep moving eh?"

The two kept moving, going into the dilapidated building seemingly bored but with all their senses blazing. As such, it was easy for them to dodge the hail of ice needles that converged on their spot as they walked into a large ballroom.

"Tch, I knew that girl would be useless." A deep voice growled, the acoustics of the ballroom making the voice echo. "Should have come out to do it myself!"

"Yes, yes you should have." Naruto replied helpfully from his spot behind a conveniently placed pile of furniture. He was throwing his voice to the far end of the room while 'pinging' his chakra through the room, searching for his target. "Got a name, by the way?"

"You might as well come out now, Uzumaki." The voice growled again. "I know you're the one Sitri sent."

"Geez, do you have any other setting or is your voice permanently stuck on mumble-growl?" Azula's snickers rang through the air and Naruto felt his chakra home in on their target's location just as a cloud of magical energy coalesced around his partner's.

"Azula... Still as insolent as ever I see. Die!" The voice snarled as Naruto sprang into action.

He dived out from the safety of his cover, fingers flying through a new set of hand seals as he went. "Suiton: Mizurappa!"

A blast of water shot out of his mouth toward his partner, deflecting the icy lances of death aimed at the vixen even as she sprang up into the air, twisting as she rose, and released a barrage of small, highly compressed, fiery orbs at their target's location.

Three sharp cracks rang out, Naruto watching as the fire balls ran smack into a swiftly erected shield of ice before detonating violently.

"Think that got him?" He asked as he sprinted into the next room, Azula racing along beside him.

"Judging by the fact that Suien, a well known water-magic user, is now using ice then I'd say no."

True to the vixen's words, the Stray bishop, Suien, had just rolled to a stop in a crouch, his right hand splayed toward them suddenly bunching up into a fist.

Once again, the familiar and master were forced to dive apart as multiple jagged shards of ice erupted from the ground. Without missing a beat, the vixen spun, unleashing a wave of flames that rushed toward their enemy. At the sane time, Naruto followed up with a cry of "Futon: Shinkuha!" that sent an ultra sharp blade of wind shearing through the flames, gaining a covering of fire as it emerged and speeding onward to Suien.

The man, now revealed to have raven hair and a cruel glint in his dark eyes, jumped, calling forth his wings to propel him higher than the flames. Unfortunately for him, he'd been a tad too slow and the edge Naruto's vacuum wave was able to tear through a part of the man's calf, the flames cauterizing the wound instantly.

"Katsu!"

At the blond's command, the vacuum wave detonated, unleashing a burst of force that threw Suien's flight plan askew.

Azula was there to capitalize, her tucked up form spinning once before her tail lashed out and smashed the Stray into the ground.

Naruto was ready, his hands held in the ram seal. The instant Suien's body hit the ground, the blond moved in, slamming both hands to the ground. "Bakudō Fūin: Geki!"

From the point of contact, a stream of squiggles raced out, ancient symbols of arcane power slithering across the ground to wrap around the body of their caster's target. The instant they were done, the true power of the seal activated; drawing from the ambient energy in the atmosphere, the seal forged a short spear of crackling lightning in the air just millimeters above Suien's chest. Then, on an unspoken command, the spear struck, electrocuting its target while branching out along the seals on the Stray's body, creating a restraining net of energy.

"And done!" Naruto stated as he stood up, clapping his hands to get rid of the dust that had settled onto them. "Geez man, you sure know how to prove a guy right. I mean really! Very first day I showed up at the Sitri grounds and I knew you were a sack of shit."

"Hear hear." Azula scoffed in obvious disgust. "Now here we are, a month down the line and you're proving us right."

"Ah we... Traitor dealt with, now to figure out where he stashed the artifact."

"I say we should scalp him." Azula replied with a nasty grin. "A nice bald look courtesy of a few flames should get him to- Eh?" The vixen broke off that line of thought as she watched the bound devil snicker. "Something funny scum-san?"

"Just the fact that you two idiots think I'm stupid."

Naruto scowled. Not at the fact that the Stray was talking, of course. The seal was only a binding seal; while talking would hurt, it certainly was possible for those with high pain tolerance, something a bishop of Suien's level would certainly have gained.

No, the blond's scowl was as a result of the resonating pawn piece within him. He could feel that Serafall-sama had something to tell him but... What?

"-see the Eiyū no Mizu is special because of its effects. When consumed, the consumer gains a massive power boost as well as a surge of control." Suien's smirk grew as Naruto focused on his physical surroundings. "While you attacked that useless pawn, I consumed the Eiyū no Mizu-"

"Once and for all proving that a billion times zero is zero?" Azula's smirk matched the Stray's but on the inside the vixen quailed. His energy output had spiked again, making it four times in two minutes! Soon, he'd be on the same level as Naruto!

"Sakasa Tsurara." The Stray whispered maliciously and then chaos erupted.

—~ ~—

"Are you sure about this, Buchou?" The raven haired Yamato Nadeshiko asked as she swiftly flew through the evening sky, headed toward the location her best friend was currently arrowing toward.

"I am certain Akeno." Rias stated firmly, senses locked onto the location of the energies. His energy. That warm, comfortable energy that had always been there for her until she had unknowingly thrust it away. She wanted it back. Wanted _him_ back. It was a selfish thought, a desire born of the innate greed she and all her kind shared and she knew it. Yet it was also something more than that. Something she had never noticed yet pined for in its absence. She wasn't certain what it was but she was keen on exploring it with him when she got him back.

Akeno's thoughts, while similar, were cursed with a pessimism that was borne out of her knowledge of him. He had once, in their early days together, decided to stay away from a young devil who had once been a friend to him but had betrayed his trust. Till this day, the Priestess of Lightning knew that he had never so much as spared the former friend a second glance. Knowingly or otherwise, herself and Rias had done worse; not only had they forsaken his trust, they'd broken his heart.

Simply put; Akeno did not believe this would end well.

—~ ~—

"So Azula, quick recap here," Naruto grunted as he sprung back just in time for his hastily erected Earthen Wall to come crashing down beneath the powerful barrage of ice spikes that their foe kept hurling at them. "He drinks the Hero Water, uses his moderately good but very well hidden cryokinetic abilities to freeze most of it in his belly before it can be absorbed while taking us on with the little boost he'd gotten yeah?"

"You're on track!" The vixen yelled at him as she blitzed around the room in a perpetual blur. The damned bastard's ice was currently more powerful than her fire, easily punching through whatever defenses she tried to put up so she had to rely on her speed to keep away from the deathly hail.

"Doton: Korashira!" Naruto roared as he flipped over and rammed a fist into the ground. In response, the earth rose up, pillars of earth shooting up at random to grant the pawn and his partner temporary hiding spots. "Okay, so he then liquidates the frozen Water just before I restrain him, allowing him to gain the fucking huge burst of energy he's currently slinging around. I miss anything?" The blond gasped from behind a shuddering pillar before barrel-rolling behind another as the old cover came crumbling down.

"The bounded field!" The vixen snarled as she let loose a burst of flame. Not a powerful one, that, but a necessary distraction that allowed the vixen to scamper behind a pillar, safe for the next two or three seconds.

"Ah yes. That." Naruto spat distastefully as he hurled four kunai at Suien's calm form as he darted between pillars. The kunai were enhanced with wind chakra and two of them were hidden in the shadow of the visible pair. Kage kunai or the shadow kunai skill.

With not even a twitch, a shield of ice coalesced into existence and halted the projectiles, the assault on the devils never so much as abating.

"His bounded field which creates a slightly delayed 'all seeing eye' effect, prevents us from leaving and, most offensive to me as a Sage, grants him nigh-unlimited power by continuously absorbing natural energy and channelling it into him."

"Is this it Uzumaki?!" Suien guffawed as Naruto hissed, his cheek sliced bone-deep by a jagged ice shard. "Is this the power that has those foolish elders considering you a possible contender for Sairaorg's title as the 'Strongest Youth'? Because this is just pathetic!"

"I know!" The blond snapped angrily. "If you could just gimme a sec!"

His words seemed to amuse Suien because he threw his head back and laughed harder still. Even with his seemingly distracted state, he was swift enough to have an ice wall halt Azula's impromptu onslaught of flaming attacks. "Give you a second? Will your enemies out there grant you such an imbecilic wish? Will-"

"Done!" The blond grinned, half a dozen clones on defensive duty as he slapped his palms to the ground. "Kekkai Fūin: Kuro Hitsugi!"

Once again the arcane squiggles shot out, slithering across the ground at blistering speeds and reaching the edges of the bounded field in no time. Then, instead of extending outward, the symbols shot up, following the path of Suien's bounded field, consuming the sigils the Stray had scribed as they went until the formerly rust-red bounded field became black as night.

At that instant, Azula sensed Suien's energy reserves plummet.

The Stray felt it too. "What- what the hell did you do?!"

The blond pawn smirked. "Ah... How to explain... Well, the truth is that, barring that annoying energy feed you fixed into your bounded field? I could have kicked your ass anytime I wanted to. Unfortunately for you, I already know of the Eiyū no Mizu and its effects. You needed that constant supply of energy to keep up with the initial boost of power lest you be drained completely of energy all at once. All I needed to do was you off your supply and voila! You're screwed."

The Stray devil gaped in shock. But if the blond knew.. "They why not activate it the moment I began to absorb the Eiyū no Mizu?"

"The Kuro Hitsugi is a special seal that requires a few conditions to be met." The blond raised two fingers. "First, there must be an already existing field. The Black Coffin in and of itself _isn't_ a bounded field; it's a barrier seal that feeds on the preexisting field to create it's own field. You must have noticed it destroying your sigils as it went? It was destroying your field's rules while stating its own, using your field's structure as its own."

Suien's jaw would have cone unhinged if it wasn't already gaping. What the blond suggested was simply insane! A seal that could turn one's own bounded field against them? But if he did have such why delay?

The blond dropped a second finger. "Two: the Black Coffin can only be deployed from the center of the field. It needs to reach every part of the field at the same time for it to take full effect. I won't bother explaining why though."

No! This couldn't be happening! Not when he was so close to victory! Wait- the blond had said that the seal needed to be deployed from the center right? Well, since he hadn't moved then...

"Sakasa Tsurara!" He roared, pouring his last vestiges of energy into the Reverse Icicle attack. The plan was simple: The blond had long since dispelled those copies of his so all that was needed was for him to move, thus breaking the seal. Then, the instant he landed and glared at him, Suien would ensnare him with the second artifact he'd pilfered from the Sitri family, empowered by the natural energies flowing through him. After all, why take only one if the opportunity for a second provided itself?

The plan seemed to work. The blond Uzumaki did jump away and glare at him, providing the perfect chance to ensnare him.

Unfortunately, he'd ignored the blond's vulpine partner who swiftly interposed herself between the Stray and the Pawn, taking the hit for the blond. It got worse when the Stray realized that his drained energy reserves remained drained. What the fuck was this?

"What did you do to her?" The demand came in the form of a frigid whisper, colder and deadlier than any ice construct even the Strongest Queen could summon.

It was the whisper of death, a sound that would easily strike fear into the heart of any warrior.

Suien wasn't afraid to die though. With his last effort, he'd ensnared the boy's familiar. Blond and vixen shared a bond that most other devils didn't have and, knowing of his shattered bond with the Gremory heiress and the Priestess of Lightning, well, taking his closest remaining bond away would make for a satisfying way to go.

"I asked you a question bastard!" Naruto snarled, his fear for his partner fuelling the fury that spiked through him. Azula had intercepted a black beam of energy that had shot out from this scumbag and now she was frozen, not responding to anything he did, not even to their bond. The black rage that screamed through him had him jerking the dying bastard up by his collar, chakra singing through him, demanding the painful execution of this... nonentity...

"I'll gladly tell you..." Suien rasped, a superior smirk on his rapidly weakening features. "Have you ever heard of the Kotoamatsukami?"

Naruto's eyes narrowed as the knowledge flashed through his mind.

Kotoamatsukami. Shisui Uchiha's ultimate genjutsu that allowed the wielder to absolutely hypnotize an opponent by implanting thoughts into the target's subconscious. To the target, it seemed like their own idea and only the caster would know of the genjutsu.

What the hell?

"I see that you know of it. Good. Suffice it to say that I stole a crystal that allows me to cast that spell on anyone. I'd already used it on the girl you defeated earlier. Now, I used it of your pet."

Less than a second later, the Stray found himself slammed into a wall, held up by the blond. "What did you do?"

"I intended to command you to stop and work for me, as I did with the girl outside. Unfortunately, my energy hit zero after I issued the stop command."

Naruto's eyes narrowed even further. "Where's the crystal?"

"Now why would I tell-"

Suien's words were cut off as the blond placed two fingers of his free hand on his temple. The next words he heard marked his end.

"Shinranshin no jutsu."

The only known S-ranked kinjutsu of the Yamanaka clan, the Mind Derangement technique was a forbidden technique for a very good reason.

The human brain stores memories quite oddly. Instead of storing them linearly or in a set pattern, memories are stored in a sort of web. Should a memory be lost, it is possible that the mind can recall this memory if even a single 'strand' is connected to it, hence the knowledge of the brain having 'triggers' that can aid in recalling a memory.

What the Derangement technique did was to rip out every link to a specific idea or thought from the mental web, leaving the brain in a vegetative state. It was a technique only to be used on spies in times of utmost urgency.

And Suien felt the full effect of that.

Having obtained all the information he needed on the Kotoamatsukami, Naruto ripped an obsidian crystal from Suien's neck and dropped the vegetative stray. With a mental command to stop the seal, he marched over to his familiar and activated the power of the crystal, using it to shatter the tethers of control Suien had on the vixen.

"Ugh..." Azula groaned as she staggered around a bit. "What the fuck happened?"

"Suien tried shut down the seal and to control me but my badass partner jumped in the line of fire and for ensnared by a technique."

"Good thing you altered the seal to be self sustaining." She replied as she felt her strength return. "How'd you break his control?"

"Tore the info straight out of his-"

"Naruto!"

The blond stiffened as he heard that voice. That once beloved voice, the voice he once longed to always hear. The voice that had cut his heart in twain when its owner declared him a brother, even after he had confessed to her his feelings.

Rias Gremory's voice.

—~ ~—

Alright. So, here's my own work on Replaced.

Read and Review Please.

The Ethereal Lord.


	3. Chapter 3

_Well damn. I did not expect this to gain such a positive review! Thanks guys._

 _Now, to answer a few questions:_

 _How come Blondie gets to keep his chakra abilities even though he was born in the DxD verse?_

 _Answering that would be spoiling it. Just believe that I have a recently mapped out plan for that._

 _On the Kotoamatsukami: Huh. A few people were pissed that I utilized it as some 'crystal'. Don't worry, I already planned a way to spin that into this fic too._

 _As to fight exposition: Suien did it to buy time. As for Naruto? Read on..._

 _Now: Onward!_

 _ **Chapter 3**_

 _"Uzumaki Naruto... The cries of your loved ones have reached me, child, and the tears of your beloved has swayed me... Go forth, now, and live..._

 _Live and enjoy life as you never could in the land of your birth..._

— _~®~—_

"Naruto!"

'Well shit.' The blond devil thought as the flashback of the last memory he had of his life as a shinobi faded. 'Situations like these are what make me wonder exactly what that voice was thinking when it told me to 'enjoy life'. I mean, how the hell am I supposed to enjoy life when I'm all but forced into a confrontation with the girl I still have feelings for who finalized my heartbreak only a month ago?'

He groaned inwardly as he turned to face... them?

'Fuck. Make that the two girls I had feelings for. By the Maou, today just seems to keep getting worse!'

Azula, noticing the awkward and uniquely tense atmosphere, decided to break the ice. Ignoring the tiny pinpricks of nausea that shot through her as she moved, the vixen inclined her head just a bit. Not enough to show obeisance or anything but just enough to be deemed respectful. "Good day Gremory-sama, Himejima-san."

The obsidian familiar drank in, with an almost perverse delight, the barely noticeable flinches on both girls' faces.

And flinch they did.

Akeno, being just a bit closer to Naruto than Rias due to their shared childhood, knew Azula better than anyone but the blond and she knew that, though she seemed calm and cool, the vulpine familiar was absolutely livid.

And though she wasn't as close to the vixen as her Queen was, Rias had come to the same conclusion. If the almost palpable mockery in that bow hadn't given her a hint then the absolutely frigid tone of the greeting might as well have been a slap to the face. The very first minute into this meeting and the Ruin Princess already had doubts...

Then Naruto spoke and she knew she was fighting an all but lost battle.

"Gremory-sama, Himejima-san, please forgive our uninformed trespass." The blond's voice was cool and collected, perfectly modulated and absolutely bland, just like Venelana had taught him the times she'd managed to rope him down long enough to be taught the etiquette of the high-class society. "An urgent matter involving this stray came up and I was tasked to deal with it with utmost alacrity."

Rias couldn't speak. Her mind was completely frozen as she tried to figure out her next move. In all her years with him since they were just preteens she had never once heard him talk like that. His voice was absolutely devoid of any emotion, nothing was there for her innate devil instinct to try to manipulate. A glance to her side showed that Akeno was just as stumped as she was.

"Well," he continued as he pulled out a scroll and unrolled it over the Stray's limp body. "Seeing as there doesn't seem to be much for us to discuss I believe it would be for the best if my partner and I were to leave."

"Wait!" The redhead shouted in desperation. If he left now then there was a chance that she would never see him in a private setting again. Forcing her mind out of its hibernation, she decided to make a move. "Excuse my outburst but can we discuss in private?" Rias hated speaking to him so formally but she had no choice. Even so, she knew she was grasping at straws for even entertaining the idea that he would leave Azula behind for their talk.

As she'd expected, he shook his head firmly as he sealed Suien's body into the scroll. "My partner and I are one. Whatever you'd like to say please say it now."

Hovering in the air beside her King, Akeno sighed despairingly. That response was to be expected considering his history with the vulpine familiar. He'd snuck into the Familiar Forest with Sirzechs' peerage and found the fox kit shivering as she tried to defend herself from a larger predator. He'd saved her, brought her home, nurtured her, and their bond had grown.

They were damned near inseparable.

"Gremory-sama, is there something you wish to say that you believe I shouldn't hear?" The vixen's voice was as cool as her partner's but with an unhealthy amount of sarcasm thrown in.

Akeno could feel the volatile nature of her King's power begin to seep into the air and her despair grew. Rias could be quite levelheaded in these kinds of situations but only when she was the manipulator, a role Azula was now comfortably enjoying.

"If you must know, then yes." The Ruin Princess' tone matched the vixen's in sheer venom. "I would very much like to speak to your partner. Alone."

The vixen's lips curled up into a mocking grin. "Well, much as I would like to acquiesce to your demands, _Gremory-sama,_ I don't answer to you. Neither does my part-"

"Enough Azula." Naruto cut in before Rias blew her gasket. It wouldn't do to completely piss off the heir to the Gremory Pillar and the younger sister of one of the Maou. Particularly Sirzechs' younger sister.

Pseudo-family or not, the Lucifer would rip him to shreds in an instant, he was that much of a sis-con.

"Gremory-sama, if you would..."

He was extending the olive branch, Rias knew, allowing her to speak her mind and she wasn't going to let the chance slip by.

So, steeling her heart, she plunged forward.

"Naruto-kun, Azula-chan, I am begging you to please return to my peerage."

Cue long, uncomfortably awkward silence.

Followed by semi-manic laughter.

"You want us to do what?!"

"Azula! Quiet!" He barked harshly and the vixen flinched like she'd been struck.

The laughter died down instantly.

"Could you repeat yourself, Gremory-sama?"

"It's Rias!" The redheaded King shouted with tears brimming in her eyes. "It's Rias! Or Rias-chan! Or Rias-hime! Those were the names you called me! You never sounded so serious and you'd always smile at me! At Akeno! You were always there for us, waiting at home or at the club! You were there-"

"Until you pushed me away." The blond replied quietly and Rias wanted nothing more than to break down in tears right there at his brutally direct reminder.

"Rias, Akeno, both of you left me." He continued quietly yet his voice resonated around the room. "You chose your preferred option, I've moved on and life goes on. So why are you seeking a foolish notion?"

The tears began to spill then, from both girls' eyes as Rias screamed her frustration at him. Did all their years together mean nothing? Was his jealousy so overpowering? Or was he just itching to build his own harem of women?

The instant the last question crossed her lips, an ancient saying flashed through her mind:

 _Words are like Eggs..._

 _Once spoken, the Eggs lay broken..._

"Never to be fixed again." She whispered as she felt an unnatural chill descend upon the room.

Funny, really, considering the fact that the one who seemed to be affecting the temperature so powerfully was a vixen known for her pyrokinetic abilities.

"I am sorely disappointed in you, Gremory-sama." Were it to be weaponized, the sheer venomous malice in the vixen's tone would have knocked out any of the four Maou in seconds. "First, you make a juvenile decision that comes back to haunt you. Then, you come flying at the very first chance you get to make an unreasonable demand."

"Azula-"

"No Naruto! I will not be silent!" She hissed angrily. "You can't see how she's attempting to manipulate you! She's trying to play on your memories together while drawing your ire to another topic so you won't notice her manipulation. You pushed him away, Gremory! You! He all but told you at the beginning of the term but you chose to ignore it, instead hunting for the Longinus gear wielder. In your haste you all but excommunicated the rest of your peerage. Then, when you finally obtained the Longinus, you chose to be with its wielder more than anyone else! You- both of you- are a complete shame to the female gender! You actively fluttered around the Longinus wielder knowing of his complete uselessness! That... That _thing_ does not deserve to find a mate! Its entire existence revolves around the female form, dehumanizing women and seeing them as naught but sexual objects! Yet the heir to the Gremory Pillar and her Queen so willingly abase themselves for him!"

The room was utterly still as the vixen's rage ran down and, for the first time in ages, was struck speechless.

"You willingly give yourselves to the thing that only wishes to become a devil to gain a harem of women yet you dare try to feign righteous anger at the thought of the one _you_ spurned doing the same." A loud, mocking laugh echoed round the room. "You aren't even worth being called fil-"

"Enough Azula." Naruto commanded more than actually seeing the vixen's rebellious stance, the blond spoke again, tone perfectly even as it had been since the arrival of his... former peerage members. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto and _I am your Master,_ Azula. That is enough."

"Tch, I was getting tired of seeing their faces any way." The vixen turned and trotted away. Just before leaving, though, she paused at the doorway and turned to him, though her eyes were locked onto the female devils. "Hurry up though, Serafall-sama, our _King_ , will require our prescence soon."

Once again, the dreaded, weighted silence descended upon the room.

"While I don't completely agree with Azula's opinion of Hyōdō-san, I stand by what I said when I left you. I fully believe that he will take care of the two of you, despite his perverted tendencies." Naruto stated coolly before turning to leave. "Now, I will be taking my leave."

"Naruto." For the first time since their encounter, the raven haired Yamato Nadeshiko spoke up, her voice sounding so broken that it took all of the blond's skill and not-inconsiderable willpower to maintain the veneer of aloofness. "Will things ever go back to the way they once were?"

The shinobi-reincarnated-into-a-devil squeezed his eyes tightly to hold back the tears that threatened to fall. She'd given up. It was what he wanted, odd as it may sound, for them to give up on him. That way, they could find their own paths as he was in the process of doing. "I'm sorry, Himejima-san, Gremory-sama, but they can't."

"Can we..." Her voice was wracked by the feelings of sadness and bitterness that had risen within her, all of it focused on herself. "Can we at least be friends?"

A sliver of compassion broke through. For all his behaviour he truly did harbor love for the two devils, a love that probably remain with him for as long as he lived. Yes, it had been broken, shattered even, but the few fragments that still existed would be there forever. They could find their own paths yet still remain friends... "Just because... things happened... doesn't mean you'll stop being my friends Akeno-chan, Rias-chan. We may not be as close as we once were but such things do happen. I am still your friend if you will be mine."

The tears that rolled down Akeno's cheeks were still borne of bitterness but now they carried a tinge of hope in them as she watched the blond devil she hadn't known she had fallen for until it was too late. "Thank you, Naruto."

"Goodbye, Akeno-chan, Rias-chan."

Maybe things wouldn't return to what they once were but, at least, things were looking less grim.

There was hope that they hadn't lost him forever.

—~®~—

Okay, this is it for now.

I know its a tad short and doesn't answer most of your questions but I felt this was the best place to stop the chapter. Anything else would have felt like an add-on to me.

Plus, my exams are still on so...

Well, hope you all enjoy it as much as you did the first two chapters. Next one leaves most of the mushy stuff behind and forges on!

Read and Review Please.

The Ethereal Lord.


	4. Chapter 4

_Geez, I nearly laughed my head off when I read some reviews. I mean honestly! This Naruto is negative and childish because he what? Still had feelings for the girls? Him forgiving them was bull?_

 _Well apparently, I've lost touch with reality._

 _Let's see, Guest: first off you are not seeing the connection here. You are basically pissed that Blondie's still got feelings for Rias and Akeno. Well, in case you didn't notice, he'd been with Akeno since they were children. That's a lot of years of friendship to throw away. Same goes for Rias. Note that he was just friends with both before he developed more than 'friends' feelings. They may have broken his heart but he isn't the kind of person to completely cut off his heart's call. Yeah, he respects their decision but he won't let his initial jealousy kill him or his friendship._

 _If you read chapter 2, you'd note that he had cut off someone that betrayed him, a fear Akeno had which was why she asked the specific questions she did: 'if we can't go back to the old ways, will you be cutting us off like you did him?'_

 _As for Slayer... If you think Naruto is being childish then read the line where I stated that he had MOVED ON and he wanted them to do the same. Sounds pretty mature to me._

 _And anger at Azula?_

 _You misread that man. He let Azula vent to a point but he cut her off as soon as she was about to turn it into a bout of insults. Had she finished, she'd have called Ris and Akeno less than filth._

 _Issei is a good kid. Yes. However, judging by how the first chapter describes things, I'd say Azula hasn't had time to see the good in him. By my guess, Blondie may have been off working his anger and frustrations with Sairaorg while the church mission went on and Azula wasn't present for the Rating Games._

 _Remember, I didn't write chapter 1, i'm simply working with it and tossing in my own stuff._

 _There was a certain guest reviewer who understood Naruto's behaviour there. Essentially, Naruto has a heart big enough to still consider a guy who shoved a chidori through his chest a friend. Sorry, brother._

 _This Naruto may not go so far but he's still got an element of that guy in him._

 _Sorry if this was a tad too long._

 _Let's roll._

 _ **Chapter 4**_

"You didn't have to be that harsh." Naruto sighed as he leaned on one of the pillars leading into the small verandah and trained his eyes on the vixen idly lounging on the twisted, crack bannister. "You may not want to accept it but I don't think you needed to be that brutal."

"I was being honest." Azula replied with an indifferent shrug. A few seconds of silence followed then she sighed. "Though I may have gone in guns blazing. Sorry."

"No problem." He walked up to her and lazily scratched behind her ear. "I knew you had to let it out."

"Should have stopped before insulting them, though."

"That's why we're partners." The blond smiled. "You get my head outta my ass and I stop you from saying stupid shit."

Azula groaned in pleasure as her partner's fingers dug deeply into one of the sweet spots only he seemed to be able to find so easily. Resisting the urge to go all the way and _shudder,_ she pawed his hand away and glared at him. "I'm still not sure why you're the only one that gets that reaction out of me."

Naruto knew the secret lay in a single word: chakra, but opted to stay mum on the subject. "I'm just that good. Wanna go check on our napping independent?"

It took a few seconds for the vixen to recall. "Sure she'll still be there?"

"I sincerely doubt that she could snap that wire." The blond scoffed. "Nothing against her but I whipped out Ajuka's work for this job. If Sairaorg couldn't get out of that well... her chances are pretty slim ne?"

"And if she's got some ability to escape?"

"That's what the suppression seal I slapped on her is for." He grinned as they walked toward the spot they'd left the girl.

"Speaking of seals!" Azula growled before pushing off the ground to smack a paw upside his skull. "You, shinobi-san, don't deserve that title! What the fuck was up with that spot of talent exhibition you pulled back there with Suien?"

"Aha... That..." The blond laughed as he rubbed the spot she'd hit. "Well, something felt off about everything, particularly the whole 'Suien's working with someone else' shtick' so I decided to goad him into playing his ace. I didn't think-"

"That he'd have something like that crystal? Of course you didn't! You decided to wing it remember? Ya didn't think!"

"Forgive me Azula-sama!" Naruto wailed as tears streamed down his face. "Without thine immense wisdom that I imparted unto thee where wouldst I be?"

"Har-de-har-har."

"You know you love me."

"Yadi-yada." The vixen rolled her eyes before locking her gaze onto the figure a few feet across from them that had somehow maneuvered into a seiza, dark blue hair framing a beautiful face and sharp blue eyes. "Well, someone's up."

"Oh? I'd expected her to be out for about three hours." Naruto stated, a hint of interest in his voice. "Uzumaki Naruto at your service miss. And you are?"

"Tied up." The young woman replied coolly, eliciting a smile from the blond.

"Well, Tied-san, interesting as your name is, I have to wonder what you were doing here seeing as how a Stray devil was just apprehended here."

A small crease appeared on her forehead. "Stray?"

Azula caught Naruto's eye and nodded almost imperceptibly. The girl was genuinely confused.

"Forgive me, Uzumaki-san, but I don't know of any strays within this vicinity. The only devil I'm certain resides here is Suien-san of the Sitri pillar."

A hint of suspicion crawled back into the blond's mind. "And how did you get to know of Suien?"

"I'm an acquaintance of the Sitri family, seeing as theirs and my family have had a loose partnership running back quite a while now." She replied. "As such, I've had reason to work with Suien-san a few times in the past. We typically work on apprehending more powerful stray devils."

"Is that why you're here?" Azula asked.

The young woman shook her head. "Unfortunately, my memories of the past day are quite muddled, I believe, as a result of the battle that undoubtedly lead to my current predicament."

Naruto arched an eyebrow. "And you aren't wary of me?"

"You are Uzumaki Naruto are you not?" She asked to which he slowly nodded, wary of whatever unknown might crop up. He need not have bothered. "Father told me of your induction into Leviathan-sama's peerage. As such, I understand that you are an ally."

Again, Azula glanced into her partner's eyes and gave a slight nod, affirming the truthfulness of this young woman's words and earning her a sigh from the blond man.

"Hold on," he called out as a magic circle surrounded them. "I'll get us to Serafall-sama."

The blond flooded the circle with his magical energy as he focused on the anchor to his destination; in this case being the King piece in the Leviathan Maou that resonated with his Pawn piece. As the connection clicked, he waited for a confirmation from her that he could appear in her presence.

The 'confirmation' stage of magical teleportation was just a case of simple manners, akin to knocking on a door and waiting for a 'come in'. It was definitely not impossible that a devil would just appear in the presence of another as seen when Grayfia barged in on Rias' activities with Issei.

Unless, of course, one was a Maou or a clan head. For these two exceptions, barging in could be taken to be an act of negative intent and the surprise visitor may be killed faster than they could blink. No, for these honoured exceptions, even amongst each other, it was only acceptable that one 'knock' first. Should there be no response, then it was advisable that the visitor teleport to the next available marker, often the Queen of said person's peerage.

In this instance, Naruto was spared the 'whole next of kin' thing as he felt his King accept his probe.

"Here we go!"

—~®~—

The set for the most famous show in the Underworld was bustling with cast and crew as the team worked together on their next production. In the midst of a certain scene, the star of the show flashed a prearranged signal to the director who instantly jumped to his feet.

"Take ten everyone! We'll use this time to work on some of those flaws in the sixth scene! Marko, Gregoria, let's go!"

It was a sign of how used to the sudden cutoffs during scenes they were that not one person so much as whined. They were, after all, working with a Maou who undoubtedly had other functions to attend and people to meet. It would be really stupid to think they could completely own the star's time.

So, it came as no surprise to anyone when a blond man, a dark haired woman and an obsidian vixen materialized a few feet away from the star.

"Zula-chan!" The bubbly media sensation cried happily upon seeing the vixen. "Zula-chan is back! Then that means-"

"Serafall-sama." Naruto bowed to his King just as she noticed him. It was also a testament to how many times the blond had appeared in this studio within the past month that he didn't even blink at his surroundings.

"Naru-tan!" Serafall cheered happily as she jumped onto the blond and wrapped him in a glomping hug. Naruto gingerly hugged back. He knew she was much older than she seemed, as her large chest could attest to, but he always found it a tad strange to hug back as intensely as she wanted, a fact that always had her pouting and reprimanding him. "Mou, Naru-tan! I told you to call me Sera-tan! Or Levi-tan! I don't like the whole formality thing! And hug back too! With lots and lots of emotion~!"

Naruto sighed. Nearly a month of being reprimanded as such had certainly gotten him used to the bubbly Maou's behaviours but damned if she couldn't seem persuasive when she felt like it. A combination of her childish mannerisms, the all-too-innocent aura she could project at will and her beauty was the extremely powerful mix that made her excel both at her duties as a Maou and her life a media star.

"All right Levi-tan, I'll try to remember."

"Yay!" She smiled happily as she jumped off him, taking his hand as she landed and began dragging him toward her on-site office. "Come on Naru-tan! Let's go!"

"Sera- I mean Levi-tan!" The blond quickly corrected himself upon seeing her glare, an action that earned him a few snickers courtesy of his familiar. "I have someone I'd like you to meet."

Serafall stopped to see who the blond was referring to before letting out a happy squeal upon seeing said person.

"Saeko-chan!"

—~®~—

Saeko Busujima, heiress to the Busujima Family, was not one to be easily surprised. Furthermore, she wasn't one to show her surprise facially.

Yet here she sat in the office of the Leviathan Maou, watching as the powerful and incredibly popular devil joked and laughed with the blond her father had told her to watch out for.

Honestly, it wasn't the Maou's behaviour that stunned her so much as the authenticity of her laughs. Of all her talents, Saeko knew that her ability to read people was quite possibly her most valuable. As a future Family Head, being able to read people would allow her to know when to take certain deals, the optimal time to cut certain associations and more. As such, she had catalogued her impressions of everyone she had ever read including the former Sitri family heiress who she'd seen as a powerful woman who used her childish behaviour to mask the powerful, deadly and incredibly intelligent war veteran. To her, Serafall Leviathan was an extremely guarded woman beneath the layers of childishness.

As such, it was surprising to see her interact with the blond and his familiar with not a hint of her typical guardedness. From her experiences, she knew that such freedom denoted absolute trust which was almost solely gained from shared experiences.

That this blond, whom her father had personally spoken to her of, could foster such trust in a Maou meant her interest in him was well and truly peaked.

The young heiress was snapped out of her musing when she noticed that the conversation was directed at her. "So, Saeko-chan, what happened with Suien?"

There it was; the guardedness the Maou always concealed had sprung up again. Saeko decided to think on it later due to current circumstances, frowning upon hearing the question. "I'm honestly not certain, Leviathan-sama. As you know, Suien and I have worked together a few times since my temporary separation from my family to live as an independent. As such, we have means of communicating should one require the other's assistance. All I remember now is that I was called on by Suien-san and I teleported over to his location, the same one Uzumaki-san found me tied up in."

"You don't remember anything else?" It was the blond that spoke up now, his eyes narrowed and all traces of mirth gone from his visage. Interesting.

"Nothing Uzumaki-san."

"Mou, that's no fun!" The Maou pouted. "Now I don't know what Suien-baka was trying to do!"

"Suien? He did something?" Saeko asked.

"Sure did." The vixen drawled from her position under Serafall's active hands. "The bastard stole a Sitri heirloom and tried to bail. Blondie and I took him on and managed to retrieve the heirloom."

Saeko eyes narrowed nigh-imperceptibly as her brain jumped into action. The vulpine familiar had avoided speaking of the Bishop's fate which meant he'd likely escaped. However, if he truly had done as the familiar said then he must have done so before calling her in which meant... "Uzumaki-san, did you catch a glimpse of the one who left me in my state as at when you met me?"

"Haven't had time to look in the mirror recently, Tied-san." The blond replied casually.

The Busujima family heiress closed her eyes and let out a soft sigh. "So he used me..."

"Yes. Azula and I believe that it might have had something to do with his intention to destroy the Sitri family. Being the heiress of one of the Family's most prominent partners, he likely believed that he could discredit the Busujima by having you take the fall for attacking me. These are mere conjecture but-"

"He should have done me in himself." The indigo haired beauty cut in coldly. "He can be assured that I will have his head."

"Sorry, Saeko-chan!" Serafall piped up. "This is kind of a family issue so we'll take care of it, ne Naru-tan?"

The blond nodded firmly. "Of course, Sera- I mean Levi-tan, in fact. I'll personally get it done."

The seriousness of the declaration by the Maou's latest addition was somewhat ruined by the slight slip-up in between it but that's on a side note.

Saeko wanted to argue but she doubted if it would have made a difference. Not only had a Maou spoken, she knew that in the same position she'd have done the same. So she nodded in acceptance. "May I take my leave now, Leviathan-sama?"

"Sure thing Saeko-chan! Oh wait! When are you gonna take me up on my offer?"

"I'd like to, Leviathan-sama, but I truly do have quite a bit to do at the moment do my rise to stardom will have to wait a while." Saeko let a small smile cross her lips. The Leviathan Maou had been trying to rope her into acting in at least a single episode of her TV show to no avail, unfortunately.

"You're no fun!" Said Maou frowned petulantly. "You and Naru-tan are boring."

"I an so not boring!"

'Huh. So she's offered Uzumaki-san a spot too? Interesting...' Saeko thought as she walked out of the office.

The moment the door clicked shut, the atmosphere within the office changed, becoming more serious.

"Good job on getting Suien, Naruto." Serafall sighed as she sat back, pulling Azula into her lap as she went. She sounded serious, more serious, in fact, than most people had ever heard from her. "Father was considering sending in assistance but I convinced him that it would be unnecessary."

"Suien is a decent opponent but he isn't that strong." Naruto replied flippantly though his voice retained a slight edge to it. "So, was it the Eiyū no Mizu or the Kotoamatsukami that made him such a threat?"

"Latter." She answered instantly. "Definitely the latter."

Naruto nodded. "I certainly agree. Which brings up my question-"

"We'd only just discovered that he had it. Your presence there in search of what we had known was missing is the only reason Father was just considering sending backup. We believe Suien took the Eiyū no Mizu as a bonus and not the main target."

"That's a disturbing power for a bastard like him to have held, however briefly the duration." Naruto shuddered, peaking his King's interest.

"You know of the Kotoamatsukami? Did Suien gloat about it or something?"

"Oh he gloated alright. The thing is, I already knew of the Kotoamatsukami. In fact, I've known about way before getting here."

Serafall inhaled sharply upon hearing his response. "How? Your memories?"

Naruto nodded. "In my first life, back in the Elemental Nations, the Kotoamatsukami was a technique utilized by a man named Uchiha Shisui. His clan, the Uchiha, had special eyes that granted them a plethora of abilities including that one."

The Leviathan Maou looked baffled by his explanation. "Eyes? That's odd."

"How so?" Azula asked. "Does it have a different origin in our world?"

"It does." Serafall replied. "During the Anti-Satan War, we discovered the existence of some extremely powerful artifacts that Ajuka took to calling the 'Altermeres' due to their ability to potentially alter the battlefield in favour of whoever wielded them. As time went on and we noticed that the Old Satan faction seemed to possess all the Altermered, it became a priority that we take possession of as many of them as possible such that, by the end of the War, we possessed quite a number of them. By order of the four Maou, each of the Families possessed at least one Altermere, a secret not known to any but the Maou, the Family Head and possibly their single most trusted spouse."

"As a guess I'd say that the Altermeres were given to each Family by the Maou in order of how powerful the Altermere was in relation to how powerful the Family?" Azula asked, earning her a nod and a thorough scratching of her ears.

"Could you describe the effects of some of these Altermeres?" Naruto asked.

Serafall leaned further back into her chair and closed her eyed, trying to recall fragments of a time she'd rather have forgotten. "There was one that unleashed an unholy black flame on those it touched. I heard that its target burnt until there was nothing left."

"Amaterasu."

"Another allowed the wielder to unleash beams of light that utterly disintegrated its target."

"Jinton: the Particle Style."

"The one I went up against allowed its wielder to control some oddly shaped orbs of scorching intensity."

"Scorch style."

"Sorry, Naru-tan, but that's all I remember for now." Serafall shook her head and slowly opened her eyes to see the intense scowl on her Pawn's face. "What is it?"

"Each of those Altermeres matches an ability back in the Elemental Nations. The Uchiha's Amaterasu, old man Tsuchikage's Particle Style and Pakura's Scorch Style."

"That's quite the coincidence." Azula muttered. "You sure no one else from your world crossed?"

"I am. The entity that allowed my rebirth here basically told me that my case was a unique one."

"Speaking of which, Naru-tan, any new memories?"

"Nothing." The blond sighed tiredly. "All I know is that I died in some fight and the entity told me that some people pleaded for me to find peace, hence its decision to have me reborn here if I so chose."

"Don't worry, Naru-tan, it'll come back to you." Serafall smiled softly at him, receiving a tired but absolutely, genuinely, appreciative smile in return.

The office was quiet, save for Azula's purrs, until Serafall perked up.

"Naru-tan! A month is up!"

The blond tilted his head questioningly.

"Time to fulfill your promise!"

—~®~—

Hyōdō Issei never thought he'd like Mondays.

At a point in his life, he'd shudder at even the tiniest whisper of that most dreaded word. That cruel word that marked a return to slavery and torture and all things boring.

 _Monday._

Now?

Issei absolutely _loved_ Monday! That most wonderful word that marked a return to fantasy, joy and all things _oppai!_

So, it was with a joyful heart that he arrived at the Occult Research Club, having spent the past few periods flitting through classes and enjoying the sight of the wonderful works of nature that so plentifully abounded in the school.

Just as he began pushing the door, he heard voices and decided to eavesdrop a bit.

"… so, now that you're back, you realize that you have quite a bit of work to do for you to catch up to Rias and I right?"

"Maa, maa, Sona just relax. I think I'm up to the task."

Dread filled Issei's being as he felt his heart drop into his shoes. No him! Please not him!

Deciding to disprove himself of his baseless fears, he pushed the door open and walked in.

And promptly wished he hadn't.

There, sitting comfortably in a chair with Koneko in his lap, nuzzling into his chest, sat the bane of his existence. The one person he truly feared. The one over whom Buchou and Akeno had shed tears.

The only one he knew could take the hearts of the two he had so completely fallen for.

Uzumaki Naruto was back.

—~®~—

Took a while to get this one out but I am here! Next up: Kuoh Academy.

I'd like to chat some more but I really don't feel like it so I'll stop here.

For those who read my other stories, Altered 14 will most likely be up before A New Life 6.

On a totally unrelated note, check my profile out for my ramblings on the Mangekyō Sharingan and lemme know whatcha think via reviews and PM's.

Read and Review Please.

The Ethereal Lord.


	5. Chapter 5

And here lies the fifth chapter in this tale...

But before that, a few responses to my wonderful reviewers...

On my use of OC/characters from other anime: it's more of the latter here and I do so to allow me use characters people already have a baseline knowledge of. I can modify Saeko's persona a bit to help her fit into the DxD universe but her core characteristics will be the same. Hope this helps.

Issei going Rogue: No. Not happening. That kinda defeats the whole Rias and Akeno staying with him purpose. However, I REFUSE to let him remain as is. He will be perverted (asking him not to be would be like taking away perversion from Jiraiya.) yet useful. Moreso than canon.

Naruto isn't a saint: He definitely is not. However, due to the angle I chose to utilize in the storytelling, he doesn't realize it yet. Azula couldn't have told him cause she's staunchly on his side.

Gary-Stu: isn't that a perfect guy? Would a perfect guy admit to being jealous? I know I haven't shown all his flaws but we're just five chaps in (as of posting this). Give it a little time. The main character doesn't always have to be a completely broken mess that's hated by the world in the first chapter.

On addition of more Naruto Characters: NONE! Trust me I know when things get over bloated and I do not want that happening here. Bad enough that I'm already working with characters from...

Obito's Intangibility: judging by what we've seen bounded fields do in the DxD universe, I think it could be easily countered once understood. So no.

So, I believe we can proceed...

*Edit: After much consideration (and conversations with a few writers) I've decided to retract my earlier decision. NaruxRiasxAkeno is now a POSSIBILITY. I'll see what I can do to bring them back together since, according to The Separation, the fact that it is a weakness of mine means I can use this avenue to see how to develop myself.

If I suck at it, though… well, I'll just blame myself for reconsidering.

The new parts come in at the 'A week later' mark. Its marked loud and clear so you can skip right to it.

Chapter 5

The closing doors of the cathedral echo with a hollow boom as she walks to the man facing the altar.

A lithe woman, neither tall nor short, with long, powerful legs and sinewy arms beneath a skintight long-sleeved black top and a skirt that ends mid-thigh. In addition to these, she wears thigh-length black boots, black fingerless gloves and two brown belts crisscrossing her waist with a nodachi-length blade in a plain brown sheath. Draped over her shoulders is a dark gray haori that matches her long hair and calculating eyes with a large symbol of the Christian cross on the back and, just over her heart, a small, birdlike symbol.

"The worthless devil failed. He was killed by an unknown and his body has not been found."

The figure in front of the altar doesn't stir.

"You realize that this sets back your plans by a bit right? We'll never be able to get any Altermere again."

No reaction.

The woman leans on one of the front pews, crossing her arms just under her modest bust. "Times like this I wonder why I even work with you. It's like you can't even hear me."

A reaction, finally. Movement, a single step back while shifting to allow light shine on half his face. And it is certainly a he. A tall, lean, man, head and shoulders above the woman, with raven hair and onyx eyes, dressed in plain black robes of a priest. Around his neck lies a silver necklace with a crucifix pendant. "We both know that I not only hear you, I listen to every word you speak." His voice has a deep timbre to it yet remains calm and smooth, betraying not a hint of anything beyond conviction.

"You have an odd way of showing that." She huffs.

"Perhaps. I'd have thought you'd be used to such by now." He replies. "However your words have merit to them. Without the Altermere promised, my plans will have to proceed at a slower pace."

"You think you can obtain another one?" She asks, sounding baffled by his words.

"For all their uncouth nature, certain members of the Khaos Brigade have their uses." He answers.

"Damn..." She shakes her head, wondering how far he is willing to go for his desires, whatever those are. "So, what will you be doing in the meantime?"

"Rin has been chomping at the bit to be let out on a quest. Being her legal guardian, I have decided that her time has come. Our objective shall be to reassemble the Staff of Moses."

The woman whistles, long and low. "Wonder who you want to call down the Plagues on."

No reply.

An eyebrow shoots up. "Well, I sincerely appreciate the show of trust." Pure, unadulterated sarcasm.

"You are welcome." A teasing smirk seems to pull at his cheek before vanishing as fleetingly as it had appeared. "Work with Matsu. Since the devil was last spotted in an urban area there might be some form of captured data useable to obtain the identity of his killer. Her Sacred Gears will come in handy."

"And when said killer is found?"

"Do with them as you please."

A sadistic smile graces her lips. "You might just be a tad fun under those robes..."

"Is that really him?!"

"Oh~ he's back!"

"Why's he walking with a first year?"

"Oh, you're new here. That's his sister!"

"Is it true that he's got issues with Rias-sempai and Akeno-sempai?"

"Impossible! But... If he does... I have a shot at him!"

The short, white haired young girl's ears twitched beneath her hair as the incessant chatter of the majority of the female population of Kuoh Academy filtered through to her ears.

She'd known that, should he return, the girls would definitely switch all higher faculties than 'fangirl mode' off but this was ridiculous! It wasn't like he was some sort of god of masculinity!

Okay, she admitted to herself with only the faintest of blushes coloring her cheeks as they walked into the gym and headed for the bleachers. Maybe he could pass as said deified being. It didn't give any of those hussies any justification for eyeing him like he was a piece of meat!

A small, not at all painful tap to her forehead snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Geez, Koneko-chan, I feel wounded by your lack of attention to me."

"Ah... Sorry Nii-san."

"No problem." The blond sighed as he stretched out on the bleachers. "So, how have you been?"

"Worried. Bored. Annoyed." She replied. To anyone else, her deadpan voice would have implied utter disinterest but the blond knew her all too well.

"I can get that you were worried about me and bored because my awesome charisma was absent for a while but why were you annoyed?"

"Issei. He defies all limits to perversion and is in a league I believe 'pervert' doesn't do justice to." Seriously! How could one guy be so damned much of a pervert that he actually wanted a Slime as a familiar? And his obsession with boobs!

Much as the young girl disliked being so small in the chest department, she had to admit that not having too much up top had at least helped her avoid the pervert's gaze.

"Does 'Super-Pervert' do it?" Naruto chuckled as a hilarious thought ran through his mind: Issei being Jiraiya reincarnated.

"Not funny." Koneko pouted. "You're lucky you don't have boobs."

"Weird way to put it." Naruto shrugged, wondering how freaked she'd have been to know that he could, at will, become a smoking hot blonde that could rival Rias and Akeno in the looks department. "And, though I get your point, I don't exactly have it easier anyways. More than half the girls in Kuoh actively seek to catch me in the showers after gym and well over a quarter of the leftovers are always stalking me. Plus, we both know I get ogled."

"True."

The two fell into comfortable silence for a while, simply basking in the other's presence and enjoying the ambience of the school.

"How about your devil life? Anything fun happen while I was away?"

This time, the redness in her cheeks was more obvious, something her brother decided to pick on this time. "Oh~ now I definitely want to know what happened!" He sat up and swung her into his lap and began tickling her sides. "Come on Koneko-chan! Tell onii-san all those dirty little secrets!"

Her blush deepened as she tried to hold out against his assault. Exercise in pointlessness.

"I got a contract with a boy!" Her voice didn't rise, though it had an embarrassed tone to it. "He was really cute and funny."

"Oh~ sounds like a crush brewing..." He teased. "What did he tell you to do for him?"

"He asked me to model for him. Not naked or anything perverted!" She hastily amended as she noticed a dark scowl drift onto his face. "He's an artist and he wanted to draw a character for some comic he was working on and he used me as a model."

"Hmph! So he's not a slimebag pervert." He sniffed. "Lucky him. So what next?"

"Well, we've only met once more since then. He wished to show me how the work was going."

"And how has it been going?" For the next few minutes, brother and sister spoke of the young girl's possible crush, blatantly ignoring the babble of fellow students who couldn't hear anything they said due to the blond's micro-field silencing seal.

"Sounds like he could be fun."

"Yes."

They lapsed into comfortable silence again, this time punctuated with the blond moaning at some of the more woeful attempts of some guys to defeat the female basketball team while not getting distracted by the abundant eye candy.

"Have you been training?"

Koneko ducked her head in shame at this. In truth, while she had been training, it was nowhere near the level her brother had been pushing her up to. She knew he wouldn't like it.

"I'll take that as a no." The blond just smiled at her cute actions. "Ah don't worry, we can train together at the school kendo club dojo early in the mornings so you can get back on track!"

"Kendo club?"

He looked sheepish as he laughed nervously and scratched the back of his neck. "Well, you see, Sona and I discussed at length and decided that, since the ORC members are all Rias' peerage members and I'm no longer a part of that family, I would join a new club. At least until I decide whether to start up on gaining a peerage or not."

"You didn't tell me." Her golden eyes looked into his azure ones and he felt himself being pierced to the core. "Why?"

"I uh... I mean I-" He stopped. And then sighed. "I guess I didn't want you to feel awkward about it."

"And this isn't awkward?" Her blunt tone had him wincing a bit.

"I know. It was a dumb move." He conceded. "I'm sorry."

This time, the silence was not so comfortable.

"Nauto-nii?"

"Yes Koneko-chan?"

"I need to tell you something. Something serious."

His head cocked to the side enquiringly. "Yes?"

"I think you overreacted." She stated bluntly. She'd been wanting to speak her mind to him for a while since she'd been able to truly think over the whole issue and now that she had started, she felt an urge to push further. "To Buchou and Akeno-sempai's relationship with Issei."

She watched his eyes cloud in confusion as his forehead furrowed in a frown. "I don't understand that, 'Neko-chan."

Internally, she pumped a fist in victory. At least he was willing to hear her out.

"Well, you say you fell in love with Buchou and Akeno-sempai but did you ever actually tell them that?"

He blinked. "Well... No... But-"

"No, onii-san. They would not have known. They wouldn't have noticed. Why? Because you were already so close, and you already showed so much care for them when you saw them as friends that when your viewpoint changed, they didn't notice. To them, you were just acting like you had been for years."

Koneko readjusted her seating position so she'd be able to see into his eyes. "Onii-san, girls and guys are pretty much alike when it comes to relationships. Sometimes, one side has to brave the risk of rejection and tell the other. Girls need to be told about as much as guys do or else things like this happen." She could see the doubt in his eyes as he began to question his actions. "Sometimes, like now, it's hard to get over but you will have to."

He closed his eyes and leaned back as she stopped talking.

The white haired nekoshō leaned back. She had nothing more to say anyway.

While she knew that she couldn't boast of knowing him better than anyone, she believed that she knew the part of him that had first bonded them together better than anyone else. She had spoken to that part of him and, in time, he'd see things from her perspective. Until then, she'd continue being what she had always been: his bluntly impartial adopted younger sister.

Standing on the balcony of her new apartment, Saeko looked out over the city. Kuoh was a beautiful place during sunset with its urban feel clashing uniquely with its almost quaint atmosphere.

~And you're sure of your decision, daughter?~ A gruff sounding voice came out of the magic circle floating over her hand.

"Yes, father, I am." She replied with a small smile pulling at her lips. Though he acted more like the family head than a father, she knew he cared for her in his own way. To him, she was safer moving around, keeping her skills sharp and making allies of her own than she was simply attending high school like a normal teenager should. "While I trust Serafall-sama, I want to be there when Suien is brought in. Attending Kuoh Academy grants me that opportunity as well as the chance to increase our ties with the Sitri by befriending the heiress."

~And Gremory?~

"I intend to befriend her at first and allow her make the suggestion of a possible alliance."

~I see you have thought this through. You may proceed. The funds you require will be transferred to you as at when due. Should you require anything else, let me know.~

"I will, father. Thank you for putting your trust in me. I will not fail you."

~We will speak later.~

The dark blue communication circle flashed white twice before settling back into its default colour with the Busujima crest floating in the center.

A brief mental command dispelled it.

Saeko's smile grew as she drank from her glass of soda. While all she'd said to her father were true, she was more concerned with a certain blond pawn.

"Uzumaki Naruto... I look forward to studying you."

Walking into the study, he can't help but be amused at the sight he is greeted with: his charge, ever the diligent girl, is asleep, head lolling to the side with a thin trail of drool slipping out of her mouth.

Amusing as it is, however, time is short and he needs her to obtain that which is required. So, he walks over to her and gently shakes her.

"Rin."

That is all that is required to rouse her from her slumber.

"Huh?" She looks around and locks eyes with him. "Oh, it's you."

"It is." He concedes. "I know you're still reeling from the spar last night-"

"No kidding!" She cuts in indignantly. "Why the hell do you hit so hard? You're supposed to be a man of the cloth! Shouldn't there be rules against you partaking of violence?"

He chuckles at her words. Classic Rin. "While you are right, a spar between a legal guardian and his charge is not considered such as you might think. And as I've told you countless times, I hit so hard because-"

"Your father made me swear to train you to the best of my capability. That involves training you to be durable for the quest." She cuts in again, mimicking his deep voice to the best of her ability. "Did I miss anything?"

"You didn't." He replies, as though she hadn't just interuppted him rudely. "As regards my purpose for being here... Well, Rin, I believe it is time for you to finish what your father started."

She just rolls her eyes, ready to say something sarcastic, perhaps, before the import of his words hit her.

Her jaw drops. Then closes. A few repeats until... "Are you serious?!"

"I am. Your father left me criteria you needed to pass before you could be allowed to go, all of which you surpassed last night."

"Finally! Oh yes! I can get the pieces of the staff back together and show that Edelfelt bitch that the Tohsaka are not to be trifled with!"

"Of course, I will be accompanying you on your quest to assist you wherever required."

"I guessed this would happen." She shrugs as she pulls an atlas closer to herself. "So, where are we going first?"

"We need to pick up your father's old cane. It has the first piece of the staff within it which will lead us to locating the second part. On the bright side, according to your father, all four parts of the staff were last assembled and disassembled by an ancestor of yours here in Japan and the pieces should be around the country. Your father found the first part but was killed before he could search for the second."

"But it gets easier with each piece found." Rin replies, a dark look crossing her face. "And when I find it, that bastard of the Zouken will pay!"

"And I will be there to ensure that it happens." He says. Standing behind her as she rises, she doesn't see the smirk of satisfaction on his face.

'Perfect...'

UPDATE!!!

A Week Later

A string of punches came from the petite girl, each more powerful than one would expect from such a small thing.

To Naruto, who fought against Sairaorg whenever he had time, they were all too slow. Besides, she was slipping back to her 'punch only' style she was most used to.

"I told you already, Kone-chan, mix things up. You rely too much on punching." He casually sidestepped a right cross and, with a slight shove, forced her to lose balance. "You're as much cat as you are Rook. Use that agility to swiftly alter your center of gravity and regain balance. Your rook-granted strength extends to your legs so use them too."

The girl stumbled to a stop and huffed tiredly. "It's not that easy when I'm going up against you nii-san! Plus I'm tired. We've been at this for over an hour."

Naruto just yawned. "Well... I guess you're right... You did start off much better but you'll definitely need a lot more practice so these lessons stay in you even over longer battles."

"Ara ara, it's nice to see you taking care of your younger sister like that. Makes one forget how much of a troublesome person you can be."

The 'siblings' turned their heads in perfect sync to the intruder, though both recognized the voice.

"Good evening Retsu-san." Koneko said by way of greeting, her voice shifting to its usual disinterested tone as she bowed her head at the head of the school's clinic.

Naruto, on the other hand, grinned brightly at the dark-haired woman. "Unohana-taichō! What brings you all the way to Kuoh's Gym? And this late too."

The woman just arched an eyebrow at the blond. "Well, seeing as how a certain someone has ignored my summons for the past week, after an unscheduled month-long absence, if I might add, I think my presence here is more than justified."

The blond had the decency to blush a bit as he scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Aha... I forgot?" His weak reply earned him a 'is that really the best you could say?' look from both ladies in the room before he turned to the younger female. "Looks like we're gonna be cutting today's training session short sis. I'll see you at lunch tomorrow."

"Got it nii-san. Stop that." She narrowed her eyes at him as she batted his hand away from her hair. After a short glare versus annoyingly bright grin showdown, the nekoshō just sighed and bowed again. "I'll be leaving now Retsu-san. Please take care of nii-san."

"Oi! You say that like I'm not perfectly capable of taking care of myself!"

Koneko didn't even deem the incensed cry worthy of the slightest facial expression.

"I am SO capable of taking care of myself!" The blond huffed indignantly before turning to the woman by his side with a shaky look. "You believe me, don't you Unohana-taichō?"

The woman simply fixed a serene smile on her face as she walked away, leaving the blond sputtering after her.

After a while though, Naruto's visage settled into a similar smile as that on her face. "It's good to see you again, taichō."

"Likewise, Uzumaki-kun. It's good to see that you've learned to put your last experience behind you, painful as it undoubtedly was."

"I had help." The blond admitted as they walked toward the main school building.

"Azula?"

"For the most part."

Unohana hummed approvingly. "And where is the little vixen?"

"Coordinating her spirits to scout the city." He replied. "We sensed a pair of... altered human auras nosing around the city in concentric circles. When Azula realized that they seemed to be narrowing their search toward the building where we fought Suien, she decided to head out herself."

The smile was off Unohana's face like it never even existed. "Altered human auras? Can you be more precise?"

Naruto shook his head with a sigh. "Not by much, I'm afraid. One felt animalistic... Like a predator while the other seemed more subdued."

Silence reigned as Unohana mulled over the blond's words while said blond wondered exactly why she'd sought him out.

Retsu Unohana was NOT the gentle doctor most of Kuoh thought of her as. At least, not entirely. Bar Naruto himself, he only knew of three beings in the school that knew of her identity and they were all devils.

Retsu Unohana was a high class reincarnated devil knight, one of the four that were under the employ of the two Maou directly connected to the school. Neither of the heiresses knew of their identities as each was chosen for their skill at concealing their own magical signatures.

"This is a tad troubling considering the timing." Unohana spoke as they walked into her office and a sensory bounded field sprung up. "First an all too brazen attack by the Fallen within this territory then Suien defects and is found here and now this?"

"That's a lot of coincidence."

"It is. This makes my reason for calling you all the more pertinent. Lucifer-sama and Leviathan-sama request your presence."

Naruto whistled softly. Sirzechs AND Serafall? Was there a target on the heiresses' heads?

"Least I know Serafall-sama will be there."

The knight-doctor arched an eyebrow as she activated a secondary bounded field to further conceal her magic. "Meaning?"

The blond just snorted as he focused on his bond to his familiar and had her prepare for a summoning. "Please. We both know that if Grayfia isn't on his ass for something, Sirzechs may not even recall having a meeting scheduled."

The woman cracked a smile as a magic circle appeared on the ground in front of them. "Admittedly." She conceded as the blond stepped into the circle. "You'll come out in a prepared hallway. They should be with you in minutes if they aren't already there."

"Got it. Thanks taichō."

"I'm sorry Buchou, but WHAT?!" Issei exclaimed in terror filled shock as the words of the redheaded Gremory sank in. 'No, no, no, no! He can't come back! This close, he'll take them back! He'll take Rias-sama and Akeno-senpai back!'

Rias, not understanding the true reason behind her pawn's exclamation simply sighed. "I know how tough his trainings are, believe me, but onii-sama said that he'd bargained with Serafall-sama to have Uzumaki-san train us along with his obligation to the Sitri family."

"It would be very beneficial." Kiba mused as he recalled some of the old training sessions with the former Gremory rook. "His skills are certainly nothing to sneeze at after all."

"Nii-san is strong." Koneko said between bites of her cake. "The Perv can do with the extra training too."

The words of the white haired nekoshō infuriated the Longinus wielder, though he stuck to character and dropped his head into his lap, bemoaning the fact that she had essentially called him weak. Inside, though, his resolve began to change; he still desired to become a harem king, that would never change, but now he had a secondary goal: to become stronger than the blond he so feared; to protect Rias and Akeno, yes, but also to prove his superiority over the blond to them…

"Well shit this is big." He whistled as he appeared in the large hallway, instantly sensing for the magical signature of the building. He may have explored a ton of both the Gremory and Sitri properties with his friends but there was a metric fuckton of space he hadn't seen either. The instant he identified the magical signature of the building, he summoned Azula to himself. "I didn't catch you at a bad time did I?"

The vixen yawned and stretched as she replied in the negative. "I was rounding up any way. So where are we?"

"Sitri property. I'm not sure which. We're here to meet the Maou."

Azula hopped off the ground, latched onto his shirt and bounded onto his head. "Any reason why? And where are they?"

"A suspicion but nothing concrete." The blond shrugged as he walked down the hall. "I feel Serafall-sama's somewhere down this way."

"Well, I'll nap until we get there."

It was a pretty short walk to the place he felt himself drawn toward: an office with spartan decorations and few, though not inexpensive, furniture occupying it.

Two out of the five chairs present were occupied, with the last having a small table beside it.

Naruto sighed. 'Something big is in the air.'

A small nudge had his familiar groan before rolling off her perch in his hair and landing beside him nimbly. Master and familiar walked into the office and bowed respectfully to the figures within.

Serafall was the first to speak, welcoming the blond in her own unique way until Sirzechs cut in.

"Sorry to cut the greetings short, Naruto-kun, but I believe we have quite a bit to get over with."

The youngest looking Maou glared at him cutely before sighing. "Sirzechs's right. Guess we'll get right down to it." She let out a huff of air before speaking again, her serious tone quite at odds with her young looks. "Simply put: something shitty's going on behind curtains. And just so you understand how bad this is, we aren't even sure where the curtains are."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. His memories of his old world coupled with knowledge from his current world gave him an understanding of exactly how bad a situation they were facing. It was one thing to know that trouble was brewing. Having no certainty as to the possible parties to the brewing trouble meant they'd have no way to formulate strategies or make any contingencies. It was exactly how Zetsu had managed to pull off Kaguya's resurrection.

"I see you have an idea of how much trouble we may be in." Sirzechs stated, drawing his attention back. "And as things stand, we have to take in the possibility that our enemies are working with outside forces."

"The other factions?" Azula asked.

"Definitely." Serafall confirmed. "However, we believe we may also be looking at internal elements as well."

Naruto's mind jumped to overdrive, coming to a conclusion in mere moments. "Aw crap. The Old Devils?"

Both Maou nodded grimly as Sirzechs spoke. "We definitely believe so. While they have been quiet for a long time, it certainly isn't an unknown that some of the older devils that chose to remain neutral during the war have spoken in favour of the old rule. Nothing loud, of course but the pointers are there for the observant."

"You've suspected for a while." Naruto stated, catching on to the leader's unspoken words.

"We have." Serafall this time. "It would have been foolish to not remain alert, even through the passing of time. And while we do admit to having possibly slackened off in time, we never fully dropped our guard."

Naruto fully understood. In his old world, even he, accepting and forgiving as he was, had never truly dropped his guard after the Fourth War.

'Still wasn't enough to spot the build up to the next war, though.'

"What prompted you this time?" Azula asked, jarring him from his thoughts.

"Suien's attempt on the Sitri altermere." Sirzechs stated, a slight hardening of his eyes the only sigh of how angry he was at the Bishop's betrayal.

"I suspected as much." The obsidian vixen nodded. "What would you have us do Maou-sama?"

"Train Rias and Sona's peerages." Sirzechs stated, his focus on the blond he still saw as a younger brother.

As expected, not even the tiniest glimmer of emotion crossed the blond's face. "You have a cover story that won't send prying eyes running their mouths?"

"Simple. A cross-species ranking game tournament." Serafall answered. "It was an event Azazel first pitched and we decided might have merit as a way to at least bring all three factions closer."

"I'm guessing this was pitched before you had your suspicions?" Azula asked to which the Maou nodded.

"Alright then. That should be sufficient cover for work." Naruto agreed as he, sensing that the reason for the meeting had been discussed, stood to leave. "I'll begin as soon as I can."

"Naruto." The Leviathan Maou's voice had him pause. "You'll be expected to participate."

"I don't have a peerage."

"You will participate."

"I need time to build up a decent peerage."

"You will participate."

"I won't embarrass you by having a weak peerage."

"You will participate."

Azula and Sirzechs glanced at each other as they tried to hold back their laughter at the back-and-forth they were witnessing. Finally, the Maou spoke up.

"Naruto-kun, other factions will be joining us and I doubt that they'll care if your peerage isn't full. Trust me, just go with it. It'll all work out in the end."

"That and Serafall-sama won't budge on this matter." Azula added amidst snickers.

"But- but- Gah! Fine!" The blond threw up his hands in frustrated surrender. "Have it your way!"

"I always do." The petite Maou smirked. "Now, I believe you have a bunch of devils to train?"

The blond tried to sulk and look put out at the same time.

The result had him looking a lot like he was constipated.

"You can leave now, Naruto." Sirzechs said, drawing attention to himself. "We'll be expecting reports on their progress through the usual channels"

"Understood, Sirzechs-sama." The blond replied with a bow as his familiar jumped onto his shoulders and, in a burst of brilliant yellow, he disappeared.

"You really think this will work?" Serafall asked her companion with the rare serious expression on her face. "Because you're toying with three different hearts here just to satisfy your younger sister."

"I know how it seems-"

"No, I'm not quite sure that you do." She cut in brusquely and pinned him with a stormy glare. "Your sister chose to let Naruto go through her inactions in exchange for the Longinus bearer. It was her choice."

"One that she regrets now." He replied softly, his mind flashing back onto Rias' distraught face as she tried to wrap her mind around the fact that she had pushed her friend away. "You can't honestly tell me that you didn't make any foolish mistakes at her age that you came to regret later on. Hindsight is, after all, twenty-twenty."

"I'm not disputing that fact Sirzechs. I am, however, warning you not to push them together if they want to be apart. The decision must be theirs and theirs alone; don't destroy their chances by meddling."

"So, train up Rias and Sona's peerages huh?" Azula asked as they returned to their apartment in Kuoh. "Sounds like a hassle Especially considering how things have gotten between you, Rias and Akeno"

"That won't be a problem." He waved dismissively at the notion. "Personal issues or not, I can just shunt whatever feelings I have aside to focus on the goal. In fact, I think I'll tell them the same thing so they can have their heads in the game."

"Meh, I guess that could work" The vixen shrugged. "Meanwhile, what do we do about the presence of the Fallen here in Kuoh? I mean, while they didn't tell us to investigate, they didn't screen us off either."

"We hunt them down, hard and fast."

The raven haired girl is an unstoppable whirl of motion as she goes through the horde of shades attempting to swarm her, an otherworldly glow emanating from the tattoo-like circuitry pattern on her limbs. Every once in a while, before she can be forced into a corner, a hand dips into the pocket of her red coat and she flicks out a number of purple gems that explode violently upon impact with whatever her target is. For those that come too close a swift death waits via a series of chops, punches and palm thrusts.

A few feet away, the man in the priestly robes looks on, occasionally flicking out an enchanted throwing knife or two to keep the shades away. His attention is on the girl, analyzing her skill, style, efficiency and speed. He's impressed.

While training with her had undoubtedly put her leagues ahead of most of her peer and certainly above these shades, combat in the real world tended to have a few more variables than simulated spars. That was why he'd led her into this crypt. Beyond finding the clues to the first part of the staff, he'd wanted to see how she'd cope in a non-simulated combat scenario.

With a final palm thrust to the chest, she destabilizes the last shade, forcing it to explode in a shower of magical energy.

"Haa~" She groans as she places her hands on her hips and bends over backward, the energy glow of the circuitry on her limbs fading to invisibility. "I expected better defenses from such a well concealed place. All that mentally tasking work breaking down the bounded field and not enough physical defenses to back it up." She yawns as she straightens and her hands cross themselves beneath her bosom. "If we don't find it here I'm going to find a way-"

"Move!"

Move! Twin voices, one soft and emanating from within her mind, the other much harsher and heard by physical means, both urgent and unmistakably feminine, bark out. Not wasting a second, the girl floods her circuits with magic and leaps backward, covering nearly fifteen meters with her jump.

It's a good thing she moved instantly as the ground beneath where she stood not two seconds ago explodes, a large dark figure flying out from beneath the ground.

By the time she lands, there are three purple gems in the spaces between the fingers of her fisted left hand as a dark miasma of energy, her family's trademark Gandr, swirls violently in front of her outstretched right hand, aimed at the figure in the dust cloud.

A dark, menacing chuckle echoes around them. "It's been a while since anyone wandered into my vicinity..."

The man in the priestly robes, knives held ready, decides to speak. "You consider this your territory?"

"Feeding ground, really." The dust begins to settle and the group begin to catch glimpses of their unknown foe's features: large, tattered bat-like wings, clawed hands and horns. "Though it's been dry for a while. Glad to see new chow in attendance."

"Ah... We'll have to take a rain check on that." The woman who had yelled out the warning speaks up, still hidden, but her voice lacks the harshness of her previous urgency. Now it's an almost sensual purr. "Being someone else's meal doesn't really agree with me."

The dust cloud clears and the figure is fully revealed: a large, ogre-like male with obsidian skin and the aforementioned horns, wings and claws. It also sports a long, whip like tail. It scoffs. "Like you have a choice."

Rin, the man in the priestly robes' voice rings in her mind. Let Karasuba take care of this. Retreat to Matsu's position and wait for me there.

Rin's eyes narrow in annoyance. She dislikes the fact that she's being ordered to retreat from a foe yet she must grudgingly agree. Skilled as she might be, she could freely admit in the deepest parts of her mind that she would struggle against this foe.

Not Karasuba, though.

The woman wasn't known as the Black Wolf of the Church for no reason.

As she stealthily moves back, she feels it: that oppressive force that proves that the Black Wolf is on the prowl.

The dark figure, mutated stray devil, Matsu supplies over the mental link, merely looks intrigued. "Hoh! Nasty battle presence you've got there. And... Is that a Sacred Gear I sense beneath the bloodlust?"

"No..." Karasuba sounds equally amused. "If you focus, you'll notice that its aura is a bit off. I guess you could call it a... False Gear..."

That's it for now folks.

I've got exams going on for now so no more updates for a bit.

Please Read and Review.

The Ethereal Lord.


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